This year’s Week 1, seemingly more than those in recent memory, gave us (or me, at least) an awful lot of information to use so we can figure out where teams stack up against one another. Here’s what I learned and/or confirmed about some notable teams in the Greater Waterbury area (and even a little bit from around the state):

1. Gilbert/Northwestern is bound for a great season. The last time the Yellowjackets had a signature win like the 34-27 one they earned Thursday over Cromwell was back in 2010, when they beat Avon to essentially clinch a spot in the Class M postseason. John Lippincott has the experience to get the most out of the team’s offense and Tony Ortiz Jr. started what could be an all-state season with a 235-yard, two-touchdown effort on the ground.

2. Seymour doesn’t yet have confidence in its passing game. The Wildcats ran 54 plays in their 24-21 loss to Amity on the first night of the season. The ball didn’t fly through the air on a single one of them. It was a strange stat line, especially for a team that has decent players in its passing arsenal and a former all-state quarterback in Joe Deptula as its offensive coordinator. Seymour failed four times on fourth-down conversions against Amity, so we’ll see if disappointments on big plays change the Wildcats’ offensive play calling.

3. Oxford’s secondary is the team’s hidden strength. When observers talk about the strong points of the Wolverines, they usually point to an experienced offense led by receivers Chris Van Kamerik and Kevin Loschaivo. Oxford’s teeth are made of guys like them, along with Kyle Chudoba and Steve Persson, but the chomping comes in the defensive backfield. Each of those four guys picked off three passes last season, and the Wolverines intercepted three in a season-opening win over Weston.

4. Woodland will still be Woodland. Many folks questioned—and rightly so—whether the Hawks’ offense would still be as effective as it was during last year’s record-setting season. We won’t jump the gun and say Woodland hasn’t lost a step, but the Hawks appear to have reloaded. New receivers Mike Kenney and Dylan Abarzua combined to catch all five of Tanner Kingsley’s touchdown passes, and Woodland’s newly professed dedication to run the ball paid off (32 rushes for 204 yards, compared to 19 pass attempts for 227 yards).

5. Craig Bruno’s offensive style is here to stay. Based on the new Naugatuck coach’s track record, we were not expecting many clouds of dust in the Greyhounds’ opener against Crosby. Bruno and his offense did not disappoint. The ‘Hounds ripped off points with ease and on most drives they integrated a big play. Three of Naugy’s first four drives included a 40-yard play and Jason Bradley completed only eight passes for 245 yards (30.6 yards per completion). Hello.

6. Holy Cross is in another early-season offensive identity crisis: It seems like every season it takes a few games before the Crusaders establish who they are on the offensive side of the ball, and 2013 will be no exception. For the first time in the Red Zone’s memory, Holy Cross failed to establish a running game as a fairly heavy favorite. The Crusaders totaled just 59 yards on the ground and only 203 yards of total offense, although new quarterback Joe Kalosky looked comfortable in his first game. Gerron Pendarvis didn’t seem to have much of a place in the offense quite yet. We’ll give the ‘Saders a short time to work on it.

7. Southington’s defense is all that’s keeping the Knights a top-10 team: The Blue Knights’ defense was their calling card last season, even though they had a powerful offense led by Yale-bound quarterback Stephen Barmore. That unit was inconsistent, though, and that uncertainty carried through Week 1 when Southington needed a safety, two field goals and a late touchdown run by new running back Thomas Hyde to beat Glastonbury, 16-9. Granted, the Tomahawks always bring a strong defense to the table, but Southington’s offense should be better.

8. St. Paul-Derby gives us hope for a fun season: There’s no way around a simple fact that became more apparent throughout 2012: Last season stunk. There was hardly any competitive balance around these parts (it’s not the fault of the best teams, such as Ansonia) and just about every game we regarded as a high-profile contest left us bored by the third quarter. The Red Raiders’ 18-point fourth-quarter comeback win over the Falcons, though, makes us think that we’re in for an exciting 2013. Derby and St. Paul were among a group of teams (which also includes Naugatuck, Woodland, Holy Cross, Wolcott and maybe a few others) that we thought were all in the same ballpark and could make for competitive action. Maybe we will get lucky and be right!

9. The stupidity of the 50-point rule continues: Ansonia is used to having to make a farce of its games by pulling UConn-bound Arkeel Newsome (photo at right, at Rentschler Field Saturday night) and many other starters before halftime, but Wolcott joined the group this week and ended up beating Sacred Heart, 61-6. As of this writing, we’re still waiting on word of whether Eagles coach Jason Pace will have to sit out the huge Week 2 game against Naugatuck, which would be a darned shame. Nobody is in favor of humiliating a high school opponent, but we have gotten to the point where the embarrassment becomes stronger when junior varsity players take knees in the second half than if the game were organically handled with the responsibility becoming of most coaches.

10. The state’s No. 1 ranking is totally up for grabs: This is the first year in recent memory when we will likely have more than two teams legitimately battling for the top ranking in the state polls. In the preseason media poll, Ansonia, Xavier and Daniel Hand all received top votes. New Canaan, ranked No. 3 in that poll, looked every bit of a top-ranked team in a thrashing of Hand and could earn some No. 1 votes this week. That isn’t even to mention teams like Norwich Free Academy, Middletown, Newtown, Shelton, Masuk, St. Joseph, Southington and many others. Our pal Ned Griffen at The Day, who compiles the coaches poll, said Sunday night the first four votes he received all had different teams ranked No. 1. This should be fun.